Larry Craig: I am NOT GAY. Remember, I’m NOT GAY. NOT GAY.

The slogan of the Idaho Hall of Fame, which Larry Craig will enter next Saturday, is “Idahoans on Loan to the World.” Nobody really wants to be installed next to Craig, but two fellow inductees will find the ceremony especially awkward. Gov. Butch Otter has been waiting six weeks to name Craig’s successor. He released a long list of all the Idahoans who’ve expressed interest in the job and had reportedly settled on a replacement just in time for Craig’s announcement that he’s not resigning. Another inductee, Lt. Gov. Jim Risch, desperately wants Craig’s seat and will soon announce his intention to run in 2008, even if Otter doesn’t nominate him.

The Idaho Hall of Fame was right to worry that the concept of “real life heroes has been lost,” although when it set out to find inductees with “pages of life experience to inspire our up and coming generations,” Larry Craig’s pages weren’t exactly the kind it had in mind! It’s organizers were looking for achievements denoting fame, not actions smacking of infamy.

And the Senate Republicans just can’t seem to catch a break. The colleagues they hate to lose are retiring, and the one guy they desperately want to retire and go away isn’t budging. John Ensign, who has the unpleasant task of heading the Senate Republican Campaign Committee for 2008, doesn’t mince words: “Senator Craig gave us his word.… I wish he would stick to his word.” Like most Idahoans, Craig’s colleagues in the Senate take his backtracking personally. If a man’s word is his bond, it’s time to call the bounty hunter.

The Hardball Debate: Should He Stay or Go

Chris Mathews’ “Hardball” panel members recently debated whether Senator Larry Craig (NOT GAY-R) of Idaho made the right decision in choosing to continue the rest of his term in the Senate. The debate entailed what must be one of the more confused, bewildering discussions to appear on television in recent times. Who is saying what about whom and why and on what grounds, etc., etc. Just see h0w long you can follow the simulated logic in this one:

Three former professors at Oral Roberts University have sued the evangelical school in Tulsa (OK), accusing the university’s president, Oral Roberts’ son Richard, of using school resources to back a mayoral candidate and provide a lavish life for his family. They also claim school officials tried to impede an IRS probe.

We need recognition by the other and wish to recognize the other in return, to have a personal involvement characterized by a mutually affectionate recognition. However, there is an inevitable tension between connection and separation; the wish for absolute independence conflicts with the need for recognition. This article explores those issues.